Aaron Saxon
- 1963
- G
Although Roger Corman narrowly managed to avoid self-mockery in his pulpy, flamboyant adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe tales, it appears that the director chose this opportunity to let loose with outright parody; the result is a wonderfully entertaining romp with tongue planted firmly in cheek. The first screen teaming of legendary horror stars Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, and Peter Lorre -- later billed as "The Triumvirate of Terror" -- this so-called "adaptation" uses Poe's most famous poem as a springboard for Grand Guignol comedy from scriptwriter Richard Matheson. Melancholy magician Erasmus Craven (Price), having recently relinquished his membership in the Brotherhood of Sorcerers after the apparent death of his wife Lenore (Hazel Court), is paid a visit by a foul-mouthed talking raven, claiming to be small-time wizard Adolphus Bedlo (Lorre). After some persuasion, Craven returns Bedlo to human form, reversing a spell placed by the evil Dr. Scarabus (Karloff), Craven's chief rival. After learning that a woman bearing a strong likeness to Lenore was seen in the Doctor's company, Craven accompanies Bedlo to Scarabus' castle, where the resulting battle of wills escalates into all-out magical warfare between the two embittered sorcerers. Corman and company relished the opportunity to poke fun at the staid Poe series, and the distinguished leads contribute to the spirit of fun by lampooning their own cinematic reputations. Fans of Jack Nicholson (who cut his acting teeth on this and other AIP productions) should enjoy his melodramatic performance here as Bedlo's straight-arrow son; Nicholson would later co-star with Karloff in Corman's The Terror, which was shot in two days using the same sets! ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, (more)
- 1958
Robert Taylor stars in director Nicholas Ray's Party Girl as the traditional Ray anti-hero: a criminal lawyer who's a little bit of both. Fronting for Chicago gang boss Lee J. Cobb during the late 1920s, Taylor manages to get Cobb-underling John Ireland off on a murder rap. Cobb throws a party to celebrate the event at his penthouse, where showgirl Cyd Charisse performs a sexy dance. Ireland has the hots for Charisse, but she's more interested in Taylor. Thanks to her good influence, Taylor decides to quit the rackets. But after agreeing to take one more case for Cobb, Taylor is wounded in a shoot-out and hauled before prosecutor Kent Smith. Smith orders Taylor to testify against Cobb; the lawyer agrees to do so provided that Charisse is given police protection. Unfortunately, Cobb gets to Charisse first and threatens to throw acid in her lovely face while Taylor watches helplessly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Taylor, Cyd Charisse, (more)
- 1958
Mark Stevens doubles as star and director of the compact western Gun Fever. Lucas (Stevens) and his partner Simon (John Lupton) set about to capture the renegade white man who caused the deaths of Lucas' parents in an Indian raid. The villain turns out to be Simon's own father Trench (Aaron Saxon), setting the stage for reams of quasi-Freudian dialogue. Larry Storch does a nice semicomic turn as a laconic Mexican, while Jana Davi supplies the love interest. The European prints of Gun Fever were augmented with several steamy sex scenes, with Jana Davi displaying far more than her acting skills. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Stevens, John Lupton, (more)
- 1957
Legendary shlockmeister Roger Corman and long-time collaborator Charles B. Griffith attempted to cash in on the popular 1950s surge in Bridey Murphy reincarnation mania with this confusing and throughly weird thriller. It begins with researcher Richard Garland hypnotizing streetwalker Pamela Duncan in an attempt to record her past-life experiences as a condemned witch in the Dark Ages. After numerous silly attempts by Garland to save her -- including regressing himself into the same period, where, by remarkable coincidence, he also lived as a soldier -- Duncan decides not to alter the course of history, and she resigns herself to her fate. Despite the spooky ambience, a cast of Corman regulars (including Mel Welles and Allison Hayes), and some clever plot twists -- including one which finds the tables turned on our meddling scientist -- Griffith's static and talky screenplay is so absurdly crammed with half-baked metaphysical musings that it becomes almost impossible to discern the plot. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pamela Duncan, Richard Garland, (more)
Actually, this retelling of the life of outlaw Jesse James is only as true as its predecessor, the highly fanciful 1939 Tyrone Power-Henry Fonda starrer Jesse James. Generous chunks of stock footage from the earlier film are reused here, albeit reframed to accommodate the CinemaScope process. Robert Wagner makes an interesting James, though he is upstaged throughout by Jeffrey Hunter as his brother Frank. Adhering to the Canon, the film insists that the James boys were forced into a life of crime by greedy railroad men -- hence, their ongoing vendetta against trains. Director Nicholas Ray adds a few psychological nuances not found in the more prosaic 1939 film. John Carradine, who played "dirty little coward" Bob Ford in the original Jesse James, appears in the remake as Rev. Jethro Bailey. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Wagner, Jeffrey Hunter, (more)
- 1956
Tony Dumont (Rory Calhoun) is none too trustworthy at the beginning of Flight to Hong Kong. A dealer in contraband goods, Dumont is the bane of his girlfriend Jean Blake's (Dolores Donlon) existence. She wants him to go straight, but the other woman in his life, novelist Pamela Vincent (Barbara Rush), wants him to remain a crook--the better to provide material for a book she's writing. Dumont has a belated change of heart when he steps on the toes of the Mob once too often. Flight to Hong Kong also includes brief stopovers in San Francisco, Honolulu, Tangiers and Macao. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Calhoun, Barbara Rush, (more)
- 1956
Produced by Roger Corman, Gunslinger stars Corman's then-sweetheart Beverly Garland as tough lady-marshal Rose Hood. Dance-hall girl Erica Page (Allison Hayes), Rose's bitterest enemy, hires gunslinger Cane Miro (John Ireland) to bump off the marshal. When he falls in love with Rose, Cane is faced with the most delicate dilemma in his entire murderous career. Cheaply made, Gunslinger has a raw, dusty integrity often lacking in more expensive westerns. The best scenes involve the confrontations between Beverly Garland and Allison Hayes, two of the most fearsome females ever captured on celluloid. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Ireland, Beverly Garland, (more)
- 1955
Although the French Foreign Legion became increasingly anachronistic in the 1950s, films like Desert Sands helped to perpetuate the glamorous legend of this mercenary aggregation. Ralph Meeker heads the cast as a bold legionnaire who falls in love with gorgeous Arab girl Marla English. Alas, Marla is the daughter of shiek John Carradine and the sister of vengeful Keith Larsen, both of whom have vowed to kill all Legionnaires within shouting distance. Larsen eventually discovers that his real enemy is not Meeker, but the duplicitous Carradine. Director Lesley Selander staged most of the action scenes in the manner of his western films, with excellent results. One of the scriptwriters of Desert Sands was Danny Arnold, later the prime mover of TV's Barney Miller. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Meeker, Marla English, (more)
